In this day in age, our attention is one of those deeply underrated, yet outstandingly valuable assets we possess. Where we chose to focus it, will foreshadow the way we perceive the world and how it will affect us. A critical component in having a well-developed mind is to have an extended attention span. The ability to direct our brains toward a particular task and maintain it for a prolonged period of time is not as easy now-a-days as it used to be. Our society has been hijacked by attention grabbing components, making them an integral part of our everyday lives. Flashing billboards, beeping mobiles, the internet, in brief, all of the electronic media which surrounds us has developed a tendency to ultimately distract us.

Our brains are constantly rewiring themselves and the fact that our attention spans have diminished considerately, has affected us by making us view the world in a distinct manner. It´s as if the critical thinking process in our brains has been substituted with a less focused pattern of cruising through life and absorbing nothing from it. We are constantly affected by the misconception that the way we do things will have no effect whatsoever on what we learn from them.

Take for example, try and remember the last time you read an article you found interesting on the web. Do you remember the key factors behind it? Would you be able to write an essay with your opinion about it? If you are a part of the general population, my guess would be you would not be capable. You see, just because you are not getting a grade on it, doesn´t mean you shouldn´t try to apply your brain in everything you do. Yes, it can be exhausting, but remember: Your brain is like a muscle, if you cease to exercise it, with time, it may be bound to become useless.

A recent study involving several dozen middle school students from the United States showed that they had significant gains on a widely used intelligence test when they exercised their brains for 15 minutes every day using the N-Back Test. What this game basically does, is to train your brain into focusing your attention on the relevant information of a particular task.

For this particular study, they did not find whether it would improve their problem-solving skills, or for that matter, if they would be able to do a better job in their algebra homework. What is important about this study is that indeed, our attention affects the way our intelligence translates into tangible results of how we perceive the world.

There is an interesting connection between the mental skill that are improved through the N-back Test and the ability to control attention, thus ensuring that our working memory will be filled with relevant information. As it has been shown before, the only thing more important than IQ scores in academic success is self-control.

Feel free to share your ideas and experiences on this topic. They will be valued to enhance the true nature of this post.